The Need for Foreign Lobbying Reform

July 22, 2016

USDepartmentOfJustice

BY PETER SAHAGIAN
ANCA Leo Sarkisian Internship Participant”“ 2016

Lobbying has existed in American politics since the beginning of Congress. It is a legal right of any group or individual to hire experts and lawyers to reach out to our democratically-elected representatives and convince them to adopt policies and stances that benefit them.

Foreign countries have a special place in the lobbying world, with reporting rules and regulations set since the 1930s, when Nazi Germany attempted to quietly manipulate elected officials and American public opinion. As a result, in 1938 the Roosevelt Administration pushed through the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) which aimed to shed light on foreign lobbying efforts by requiring, as the name implies, countries and outside firms to register with the Department of Justice and report their activities on consistent basis. All “foreign agents”

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